


sterling

by peonysoda



Series: Promptis Fan Week [5]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fake Marriage, M/M, Marriage of Convenience, Promptis Fan Week, Promptis Week, but not really fake because they actually do get married
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-14
Updated: 2017-09-14
Packaged: 2018-12-29 21:53:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12094197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peonysoda/pseuds/peonysoda
Summary: “They have a subsidy for students who are married!” Prompto exclaims. “I never knew our school had this! Man, all I need to do is find someone to tie the knot with and bam!”Noctis is silent for a long while as Prompto rambles on about the details of the said scholarship subsidy.“Actually…” Noctis looks at him, and then at the pamphlet Prompto was holding, and continues, “that isn’t such a bad idea.”





	sterling

**Author's Note:**

> ~~Late Night Talk~~ // Favorite Trope 
> 
> Day 4 of [Promptis Fan Week](promptisfanweek.tumblr.com)! I chose the "Marriage of Convenience" trope. I took a lot of liberties regarding scholarships for married students, but well, you know. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

The tie around Prompto’s neck felt like it was strangling him, despite him being sure that it wasn’t this tight just a few minutes ago. Each breath he took caught in his throat, and he could feel his palms start to sweat. He feels for the boutonnière pinned to the lapel of his suit, and that… that makes all of _this_ all the more real. 

He looks at Noctis standing beside him, dressed similarly, boutonnière a heavy contrast against the dark of his suit. The guy turns to him and smiles, and while he smiled back, he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. Guilty that Noctis was doing all of this for him.

He barely notices the registrar call his name.

“—nd are you, Prompto Argentum, free, lawfully, to marry Noctis Lucis Caelum?”

Prompto swallows around the lump in his throat and says, shakily, “I am.”

 

* * *

 

“What’s that?”

“Oh, this?” He was sitting on the sofa in Noctis’s living room, browsing through a thin pamphlet. “It’s the university pamphlet for available scholarships.”

“Don’t you already have a scholarship?” Noctis heads to the kitchen to get some water and comes back with two glasses. He hands one to Prompto. 

“Yeah, but…” Prompto gulps down half the glass in one go. It had been getting hotter out recently, with summer reaching its peak. It was only a matter of time until they had to go back to university. “It only covers for tuition and not for other stuff. And all that other stuff’sexpensive as hell.”

“I see.” Noctis takes Prompto’s glass and sets it on the coffee table, not bothering to place it on a coaster. “You qualify for any this semester?”

“Haven’t really seen one yet.” Prompto groans, before remembering something he saw earlier. “But hey, get this!”

“Get what?”

“They have a subsidy for students who are married!” Prompto exclaims. “I never knew our school had this! Man, all I need to do is find someone to tie the knot with and bam!”

Noctis is silent for a long while as Prompto rambles on about the details of the said scholarship subsidy.

“Actually…” Noctis looks at him, and then at the pamphlet he was holding, and continues, “that isn’t such a bad idea.”

“Why, you volunteering?” He snickers as Noctis sits down beside him and takes the pamphlet from his hands. _Yeah right, like he’d ever wanna marry you_ , he thinks dismally. They’ve been best friends for years, yeah, but that doesn’t mean he’d go _that_ far for him. 

He does think about it, though. Being with Noctis. Being with him as something _more_ than friends. Maybe not to the extent of being married, but… he’d be lying if he said his feelings for him didn’t go beyond something like friendship. Because it did go beyond something like friendship, and the thought has been dancing around his mind for a while, a really long while. Not that he can do anything about it. But the thought was nice, even if it was just that: a thought.

Noctis reads the entry for a long while, looking as though he was contemplating something, before speaking again, “Why not?”

“Eh?” Prompto feels his mouth go dry. Surely he didn’t mean it like _that_ , right? No way in hell would Noctis be on board with something like this, right? “What do you mean—”

“I mean—” Noctis interrupts him and coughs into his hand. “Let’s get married.”

 

* * *

 

“I, Noctis Lucis Caelum, take you, Prompto Argentum, to be my wedded husband.”

“I, Prompto Argentum, take you, Noctis Lucis Caelum, to be my wedded husband.” 

Prompto’s mind was on autopilot. _Was this really happening?_

Noctis takes the ring out of his pocket.

“Prompto,” he starts, and Prompto feels the tie around his neck grow tighter, “I give you this ring as a symbol of my love. I am honored to call you my husband.” Noctis takes his hand (he prays he doesn’t notice how cold it was) and slips the ring on his finger. Prompto stares at it for a while, still not quite believing that all of this was happening, and is only taken back to reality when Noctis squeezes his hand gently. Right, the ring. 

“Noctis, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love. I-I’m honored to call you my husband.” His words were quick and clipped, like he swallowed them all in his attempt to say his sentences. He very nearly drops the ring in his attempt to slip it on Noctis’s finger, but he manages not to embarrass himself. Barely. 

“By the power vested in me, it is my honor and delight to declare you married and partners for life.” _For life_ , he thinks solemnly, _if only_. “You may seal your vows with a kiss.”

Crap. He forgot about that. 

Noctis holds his cheek and Prompto feels as if his heart has jumped to his throat, beating wildly, feels as if it would escape if he so much as opened his mouth. And then, his lips were on his. Prompto gasps, just a little, at the contact and then, it was over. He hears the registrar congratulate them both, and he hears Ignis and Gladio, the only other people in the room, clap to signal the end of the ceremony. It was finally over.  

For now, at least. 

Walking down the stairs of the courthouse was a feat in itself, because Prompto feels as if all of his limbs have turned into jelly. He and Noctis had their arms linked as they exited the building, and Ignis stops them at the entrance to have their pictures taken. 

He had imagined more than once that he’d be the one taking Noctis’s photos at his wedding. 

Turns out life had other plans for the both of them. 

All of them file into a restaurant in town after the ceremony, with more than a handful of people congratulating them. They had run into one of their professors along the way, and she looked excited to see them. She had congratulated them too, and had even promised a small gift come the start of the semester. Prompto smiled and thanked them all, ignored the growing bubbling feeling in his stomach that could only be guilt. 

The staff at the restaurant had asked them if they had just gotten married and Noctis answers almost automatically, brandishes the ring on his finger before taking Prompto’s hand and showing both of the rings to their waitress. She squeals in delight and finishes taking their orders.

“Well, I suppose some congratulations are in order here,” Ignis says as he takes his glass of—was that champagne or white wine? Prompto didn’t pay attention to what they all ordered, just let Ignis decide what to get. Ignis raises it up and says, “Congratulations, Noct. Prompto.” Gladio follows suit and all of them raise their glasses up in a toast. 

They both didn’t know. Probably. They didn’t show any indication of being surprised either, which was weird. Not that Prompto was complaining. He was grateful that he wasn’t being bombarded with questions he didn’t want to answer. 

“So, I’m kinda curious here,” Gladio says as soon as he takes a sip of his drink. It was champagne, Prompto finds out as he takes his own sip. He braces himself for the question he wasn’t sure if he could answer. “Exactly when did Noct propose to you?” Nope, he definitely couldn’t answer that. He looks at Noctis, nervous, but the guy answers almost automatically.

“Asked him at the end of last semester,” he says, laughing, and without missing a beat. Well, that wasn’t a lie, he did ask him near the end of the semester, but— “You should’ve seen his face, he was so surprised.” That wasn’t a lie either. 

“I see.” Gladio finishes his glass with astonishing speed. “Didn’t want to wait, huh?” He smirks at Noctis, and then at Prompto.

“Why should I?” Noctis huffs. Prompto was getting impressed at how believable he was making this all out to be. If he just dropped all pretenses, maybe he himself could believe it. 

But that wasn’t the case. He had to remind himself that this was all a ruse. A convenience. A convenience that Noctis was willing to give him. He doesn’t even know how long. Until graduation? Until they both start working? As soon as Noctis finds someone he was genuinely interested in? He finds himself dreading the answer, but smiles at Ignis and Gladio all the same.

“Noct always was really impatient.” He laughs. “I was so surprised when he told me he planned everything already.”

“You couldn’t very well say no to that, I suppose.” Ignis chuckles quietly. 

“Never really could say no to him.” He smiles. That wasn’t a lie either.

 

* * *

 

They both decide that Prompto should move in to Noctis’s off-campus apartment. He always stayed there anyway, so it wasn’t that much of a difference, but at the same time, it _was_ different. It was entirely different. They were _married_ now. _Married_. Either of them could take the other’s last name if they wanted to. And they both had to change their student forms to reflect that fact that they were _married_. Had to contact financial aid to inform them and the staff automatically suggested that he apply for the subsidy, after congratulating him, that is. He got used to all the greetings. 

“So, dearest husband,” he starts saying in an attempt to lighten the mood, “should I start unpacking?”

“Yeah, sure thing.” Noctis takes the box he was holding off his hands. “I’ll help you out.”

“Thanks,” he says quietly.            

“You don’t have a lot of stuff,” Noctis says. “You don’t wanna get some stuff from home?”

“Nah dude, it’s okay.” _It’s not like I’ll be staying here forever, anyway_. “Really, thanks for letting me move in.”

“It’d be weird if you didn’t.” Noctis laughs, before his expression turned into something undecipherable. He looks at Prompto’s hand. “You’re not wearing your ring?”

“Oh.” Prompto realizes that he really wasn’t. He pocketed it this morning as he moved out of the dorms. “I guess not.”

“You should wear it.” Noctis’s expression was soft, almost like he was looking at him with fondness. Prompto had to remind himself that it wasn’t like that. 

“T-That’s true.” He laughs again and takes it out of his pocket to put it on. “Better to avoid questions, huh?”

“Yeah.” Noctis says quietly. “Questions.”

 

* * *

 

“Seriously, I’m fine with the sofa.” He insists. 

“Prom.” Noctis says firmly. “We literally have shared a bed since high school whenever you stay over. Why change that now?”

“Because it’s—” _Because it’s different now_ , his mind supplies. If he does this, it really does make it seem like they were married. Well, they were, technically but still—it was different. “Well, I guess you’re right.”

“Good.” Noctis seemed a little too smug at winning their little argument and Prompto pouts at him. “Don’t go shy on me now.”

“Does that mean I get your pillow?”

“Sure thing, honey.” Noctis laughs a little and Prompto’s breath catches in his throat. It’s not the first time Noctis used any form of endearment towards him but… the meaning of it _now_ wasn’t lost on him. 

Prompto finds himself having trouble falling asleep that night. 

“Hey,” Noctis calls out to him in the dark. “You okay?”

“Ah, yeah,” he says. “Just… getting used to the idea of being married, I guess.”

“Mm.” Noctis hums. 

“Sorry, did I wake you up?” 

“Nah, it’s cool.” Noctis turns to him and brushes Prompto’s hair off his face. “Having trouble falling asleep?” 

“A little.” 

“Come here, then.” He gasps when Noctis pulls him into an embrace, arm wrapped tightly around his waist. “That better?”

He hated to admit it but yeah. Yeah, it was. 

“Yeah.” 

He wakes up in the middle of the night with his head tucked under Noctis’s chin, their legs tangled together. This wasn’t the first time this has happened. It had happened a lot, actually, whenever they slept next to each other. He could hear him snoring lightly, his breath fanning against the crown of his head. He allows himself the luxury of burying his face in Noctis’s chest.  

When he wakes up in the morning, the space next to him was empty. He found it weird because he always woke up before Noctis, heavy sleeper the guy was. 

He walks out of the bedroom to see him preparing breakfast. Noctis was just about to plate some eggs and some bacon when Prompto joins him in the kitchen.

“You didn’t have to do this, you know.” He yawns. “How long have you been up?”

“Long enough to be able to make breakfast,” Noctis chuckles. “And I wanted to. Make breakfast, that is.”

“I didn’t know you could cook.” 

“You really think Ignis didn’t pass off any of his knowledge to me?” He laughs. 

Prompto smiles at him. He could see him wearing the band on his finger, and he looks at his own, the silver glinting in the early morning sun. Noctis was the one who chose the rings. He was the one who planned most of the ceremony, actually, and Prompto was grateful. He was never the best at planning things. 

He thinks that he might as well enjoy this while it lasted.

 

* * *

 

Surprisingly, everything was like it used to be. 

They still joked around, laughed with each other, talked with each other, played video games in their spare time, helped each other study in class… Everything that they normally would have done had they not been married. 

He was grateful for that as well.

 

* * *

 

Surprisingly, everyone who eventually found out that they were married weren’t surprised by the fact. 

He’d thought more people would appear to be incredulous at that particular piece of information, but instead he was greeted by even more congratulations and well wishes. And as their professor had promised, she gave him a gift as soon as she was able to. It was a set of plates. Incredibly practical, he thought as he and Noctis opened it at home (home, he thinks, he’s been calling it theirs for a while now; _their_ home; he had to stop doing that). 

He’d expected questions, but none of them came. And thank god, because he wasn’t as eloquent as Noctis, wasn’t the type of person that was able to concoct stories that made sense or were believable.

 

* * *

 

Noctis had been introducing him as his husband now. And he was doing the same, whenever they met new people.

It was starting to strangely become normal, this whole ‘being married’ thing. They become increasingly domestic as well, and Noctis had become increasingly more affectionate towards him. Made it feel like it was real, like it was something that would last forever. 

And that scared him.

 

* * *

 

He catches Noctis talking to his father when he arrives home from school one day.

“I’m so sorry I missed the ceremony, Noctis.” 

“Dad, it’s fine, I can’t expect you to fly all the way from home when you’re so busy with—”

He hears them through the entrance, and he was suddenly struck with the reality of the situation yet again. He knows Regis, had known him since high school. He had been extremely amicable towards him, had been incredibly kind, and here he was, practically using his son. It wasn’t something that could be forgivable in any book. 

He steps into the living room.

“H-Hello, sir.”

“Prompto, my boy!” Regis looked extremely excited to see him, and that made the guilt even more unbearable. “It’s been a while, son. I’m so sorry I missed the ceremony.”

“It’s totally fine, sir! I’m sure you’ve been incredibly busy!” He was actually pretty grateful that Regis missed the ceremony. He wasn’t sure if he could’ve taken it if he were there. 

“I did bring you two a small gift.” Regis says. “I hope you both like it.”

“Thank you, dad.” Noctis pats the box next to him. “How long are you staying?”

“I’m afraid I have to go back home in a few days,” he says sadly. “However, if the both of you are free, what do you say to a dinner?”

“That would be nice.” Noctis reaches out to Prompto’s hand to hold it, rubs his thumb against the silver band on his finger.

 

* * *

 

The year passed by rather quickly, and soon enough it was about time for the two of them to graduate and say goodbye to student life. Noctis would be starting to work under his dad’s company, and Prompto would have to start job hunting. It was a good year, all things considered. It was a good year.

Now, it was only a matter of time until everything ended.

 

* * *

 

“Prompto.” 

They were having a celebratory dinner after their final exams had finished, after they had submitted all their theses to their respective departments. Ignis and Gladio weren’t able to make it in the end, but they still went out for the night. It would’ve been a waste not to, and Prompto needed a drink for what would definitely come afterward. 

“Y-Yeah?” He says, nervous. Afraid. 

“How should I start this…” Noctis looked conflicted, and more than a little nervous. Prompto braces himself for what he’d say next, knowing full well what it would be. He lets him start, because he wasn’t sure if he could do it himself. Doesn’t trust his mouth to form sentences, doesn’t trust himself to be able to end this. Not when it was the best thing to ever happen to him, loathe as he was to admit it to himself. He liked having Noctis beside him, liked feeling like he belonged to him, like he belonged at his side. 

“What is it?”

And then, Noctis was standing, was taking something out of the pocket of his jacket. And then… 

He kneels beside him. 

“I know we’re already married.” _Oh god_. “I know we’re already married, but god, Prompto I—”

“N-Noct?”

The people around them were watching, Prompto could feel their eyes on the both of them, all of them waiting with bated breath. 

“Prompto, please marry me again.” Prompto’s mouth drops open, and the words get stuck in his throat. 

“I-I—”

“I’m being selfish, probably.” Noctis starts saying. Prompto still couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. “I don’t know if this is what you’d want, but I know that—I know that I want to be with you. I want to be _with_ you. God, I’m—” Noctis starts choking out his words, and Prompto could see his eyes glisten with tears. “I love you, I’m in love with you, I’ve been in love with you for so long and I—”

Prompto says the only thing he could say. “I love you too.”

The ears that were forming on Noctis’s eyes finally spill out, and he breaks into the widest grin Prompto’s ever seen on him, before standing up to kiss him. The first kiss they’ve had since they kissed each other after their vows. He hears the people around them cheer and he feels his heart soar.

“So is that a yes?” Noctis asks. 

“Yes.” Prompto smiles at him, and Noctis wipes the tears away from his own face and smiles back, just as wide. “ _Yes._ God, yes.”

He finally notices the thing he took out of his pocket. It was a small box, just big enough to fit in the palm of his hand. 

“I know we already have rings, but…” He starts, laughing. He opens the box to reveal a silver band, and Prompto had to keep himself from falling from his seat. “Please wear this for me when we get married again.”

“Of course,” Prompto says, laughing with him. “Anything. Anything, Noctis.”

He all but drowns out the clapping around them and lets Noctis pull him into a tight embrace.

 

* * *

 

“I, Noctis Lucis Caelum, take you, Prompto Argentum, to be my wedded husband.”

“I, Prompto Argentum, take you, Noctis Lucis Caelum, to be my wedded husband.” 

“May I have the rings?” Noctis calls out, and he is handed the silver band he had shown Prompto all those months ago. “Prompto, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love. Let it be a symbol of my promises to you. I marry you, again, with this ring, with all that I have and all that I am. Let it be a reminder that I am always and will always be at your side.” He slips the ring onto Prompto’s fingers, and Prompto has to take a moment to let everything sink in. 

Prompto takes the other ring and slips it on Noctis’s finger and says, “Ever at your side.”

The same words inscribed on their rings.

**Author's Note:**

> Regis gifts them a pair of matching towels, with their names embroidered on them. Practical, right?
> 
> Hit me up on twitter and on [tumblr](peonysoda.tumblr.com)!


End file.
